Teva expands eHealth alliance with IBM

Taps Watson Health Cloud for drug
development and disease management work

Teva Pharmaceuticals has signed a three-year research deal with IBM, enlisting its Watson supercomputer for drug development and chronic disease management challenges.

The expanded eHealth alliance hopes to deliver an “unprecedented scale” of novel therapies by repurposing existing drugs as new treatment options.

Using the IBM Watson Health Cloud, Teva will focus on developing cognitive technologies that can enable a more systematic approach to drug repurposing and so reduce both the time and cost burdens of bringing new therapies to market.

Ajay Royyuru, IBM fellow and director of healthcare and life sciences research for IBM Research, said: “There is so much data out there that is currently underutilised, yet has the potential to significantly inform drug repurposing.

“80% of all health data is invisible to current technology systems because it is unstructured. Using cognitive technologies to mine this data could reveal novel therapies for diseases that desperately need tackling.

“By teaming up with Teva, our belief is we will gain insights that can lead pharmaceutical companies to develop new medicines that benefit patients worldwide.”

The partners also aim to help patients, healthcare providers and payers better understand and control chronic conditions through cloud-connected drug delivery and app technology.

Beginning with respiratory and central nervous system (CNS) diseases, the chronic disease management initiative will integrate data from IBM's The Weather Company to analyze and calculate prospective risks for health events, such as asthma attacks.

An app will be used to deliver the findings directly to patients and caregivers, to provide those affected by chronic conditions with a more complete picture of their health.

Dr Rob Koremans, president and chief executive of Teva Global Specialty Medicines, said: “Teva envisions a future where we can empower patients and their families to better understand diseases, like asthma, and cope with health challenges in a more systematic, data-driven manner, with the ability to be proactive rather than reactive.

“In doing so, we aim to cut treatment costs by providing patients, payers, healthcare providers and caregivers with relatable data that can inform action and insights into a patient's total disease management plan.”

Teva and IBM first teamed up in 2015, signing a deal to create disease models and advanced therapeutic eHealth solutions using real-world evidence and machine-learning technology for complex and chronic conditions, including asthma, pain, migraine and neurodegenerative diseases.

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